Daily Clips for December 8, 2010

FEATURED STORIES Rick Scott's jobs tour has a public and private face By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Gov.-elect Rick Scott seems to be on two jobs tours at the same time. Budget shortfall grows as Florida's fiscal picture darkens By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau A slump in sales tax collections and a spike in Medicaid costs is prompting state economists to forecast an even bigger budget shortfall for next year of $3 billion or more. Fla. Attorney General cites state's rights in suing feds over stricter water rules By Adam Playford Palm Beach Post Citing state's rights, Florida is suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency to block stricter water quality standards, Attorney General Bill McCollum announced Tuesday. Fla. Sen. Fasano: Offer new 1st DCA building to other tenants By Paul Flemming Florida Capital News The $49 million 1st District Court of Appeal continued to get bashed Tuesday and a state Senate committee chairman said he'd offer the new building to other tenants. Florida high school grades best ever By Leslie Postal Orlando Sentinel Florida high schools posted their best ever school grades in 2010 under a new system that for the first time judged schools on more than just FCAT scores. FLORIDA POLITICS Scott endorses Arizona immigration law for Florida By Luke Johnson Florida Independent In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott endorsed bringing an S.B. 1070-style immigration enforcement law to Florida. Secret meetings & public officials a bad mix By Scott Maxwell Orlando Sentinel While you've been focused on turkey and Christmas shopping, politicians in Tallahassee have been focused on their own festivities — like secret meetings. House speaker announces subcommittee chair, vice chair appointments By Janet Zink St. Petersburg Times House speaker Dean Cannon today announced committee vice chair, subcommittee chair, and subcommittee vice chair appointments. Fla.'s LeMieux says farewell to Senate in speech By Brendan Farrington The Associated Press Republican Sen. George LeMieux gave a stern warning to his colleagues Tuesday during a farewell speech: if you don't stop out-of-control spending, you will ruin this nation. Huckabee comes to sell books, test political waters By Jeremy Wallace Sarasota Herald-Tribune President Barack Obama is not even halfway through his term in office, but the race to replace him is already well under way. Fla. clemency board on brink of pardoning Doors' Morrison for 1969 exposure conviction By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Time to break on through to the other side? Hang on, rockers. Local Democrats in disarray By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News After dumping their chairman Monday, Leon County Democrats want to run off Democratic National Committeeman Jon Ausman for taking sides in party primaries. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Sink takes swipe at BP claims czar in last Cabinet meeting for her, Crist, Bronson, McCollum By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Ace, the state's gas-sniffing hero of a dog, made his good-byes as a state employee today in the basement of the Capitol. UWF economist: BP low-balling oil spill impact By Jim Ash Florida Capital News It's too early to calculate all the losses, but the BP oil spill was more damaging to Northwest Florida than the oil giant is so far willing to admit, a University of West Florida economist suggested to a Senate panel on Tuesday. Biomass plant clears hurdle By Chad Smith Gainesville Sun Gainesville's proposed biomass plant cleared one of its last hurdles Tuesday afternoon after the governor and Florida Cabinet unanimously signed off on the project, all but setting the stage for the city and its contractor to build one of the largest wood-burning power plants in the country. State transfers 30,000 acres of Big Cypress Preserve to National Park Service The Associated Press Naples Daily News Gov. Charlie Crist and three other independently elected statewide officials met for the final time Tuesday in their capacity as governor and the Cabinet. LGBT Palm Beach County group wants Rick Scott to ban anti-gay discrimination in state employment By Anthony Man South Florida Sun-Sentinel The gay rights group Palm Beach County Human Rights Council said Tuesday it wants Gov.-elect Rick Scott's first order of business when he takes office to be issuing an executive order banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in state employment. EDUCATION High school grades rise statewide By Ron Matus St. Petersburg Times Related editorial: Schools improve, but more work to be done High school grades rose dramatically this year, thanks in part to a new grading formula that for the first time included other factors besides the FCAT. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Economist: Florida's budget shortfall could top $3 billion By Aaron Deslatte Orlando Sentinel As Gov.-elect Rick Scott led a business-financed jobs tour and huddled privately with corporate executives throughout the state, the Legislature's chief economist Tuesday delivered a sobering refresher to state lawmakers on Florida's bleak revenue and jobs pictures. Scramble on to fix unemployment compensation tax hike By Gary Fineout Florida Tribune Florida lawmakers are scrambling again to try to ward off looming tax hikes needed fix the state's battered safety net for laid off workers. Wholesale price of green beans doubles in wake of Glades freeze By Susan Salisbury Palm Beach Post Farmers reported temperatures as low as 26 degrees Tuesday morning in western Palm Beach County, as they began to count their losses in vegetable fields burned by frost. NASA budget funds third shuttle launch By Mark K. Matthews Orlando Sentinel For weeks, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida and other lawmakers have warned that budget hawks in Congress were looking to slash NASA's funding next year -- a move that would imperil plans to add a third space shuttle flight to the two remaining missions. Fla. A.G.: Bank of America rigged municipal bond bids By Robert Napper Florida Independent Bank of America has agreed to a $67 million settlement with several states including Florida amid an investigation into allegations members of the bank took part in a scheme involving bids on municipal bond derivatives. Thousands of Fla. mortgage brokers may lose jobs The Associated Press Tampa Tribune Thousands of Florida mortgage brokers will be out of work after Dec. 31. HEALTH AND SENIORS Report: Florida drops in national health ranking By Linda Shrieves Orlando Sentinel In a new health ranking, Florida ranks 37th in the country, down from 35th last year. New health budget chairman wants to pay doctors more By Christine Jordan Sexton Florida Tribune Doctors could be in for a fee increase for treating Medicaid patients under a plan that Sen. Joe Negron says he will champion. Statewide health insurance pool for school districts? By Christine Jordan Sexton Florida Tribune Teachers and other school district employees could find themselves purchasing health, hospital and accidental insurance through a statewide alliance which would seek coverage from insurance companies willing to negotiate. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES Jeb Bush bucks Ariz.-style immigration law By Sara Kennedy Bradenton Herald Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has expressed opposition to Arizona’s controversial immigration law, saying his children might look suspicious to police, according to news reports. Civil Rights Association, Rep. Brown up in arms over ‘SWAT-like’ barbershop raids By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent The Florida Civil Rights Association is asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate a series of raids on barbershops owned by African-Americans and Latinos, and an influential African-American congresswoman is joining the fight.